Analyst relations teams often lack internal support. I was surprised when that comment was viewed by 16,000 professionals in just three days, and 21,000 before the week was up on LinkedIn. The audience attracted by a rich discussion on the post, which involved several of the smartest analysts and analyst relations people I know. I wrote Read more about 21,069 reasons why analyst relations needs more than budget[…]

Regulations, authoritative professional norms and dominant culture set complex expectations for all institutions. In the opening session of a workshop for academics and PhD candidates at the University of Edinburgh Business School, professor John Amis pointed out the way that companies also play a role producing norms, and selecting the social actors, that embed the Read more about Turning technical legitimacy into market action[…]

I’ve just listened to a replay of a webinar comparing Gartner’s Cool Vendor award with the rival Hot Vendor awards from Aragon Research and HfS Research. My colleague Annelieke Nagel hosted two speakers from the Analyst Observatory, a research centre at the University of Edinburgh Business School funded by the Economic and Social Research Council’s Read more about How valuable is analyst endorsement to Hot and Cool Vendors?[…]

Influencers have value. The opaque market emerging for buying influencers, increasing their value and leveraging their endorsements distort purchasing, policy processes and corporate outcomes. Over the next year Fábio Rocha, Jessica Backsell, Johan Nilsson and I will research the market for influencers. Rocha (@fnevesdarocha) is a long-time software industry executive whom I work with in Read more about The market for influencers: opaque distortions of commerce and policy[…]

Despite the huge and surprising scale of the alleged kickbacks, Gartner is not alone. Almost all the dominant global technology consulting firms have been implicated so far by a South African investigation into bribery. Bain, McKinsey, SAP have all been implicated in ‘dodgy’ government contract negotiations in this ongoing state capture investigation. The lynchpin in these contracts is Read more about Gartner’s corruption scandal is nothing special[…]

You’re thinking it, aren’t you? You wonder if paying analyst firms will improve your placement in comparative reports, get you included in other reports, get you mentioned in speeches, and recommended when analysts talk to buyers. You don’t want to insult them, but you want to know. Isn’t it all pay for play? We Read more about Guest Post: How to Pay Analyst Firms for Better Coverage[…]

Gartner’s share of the value created by the analyst industry is slowly trickling down. The 2017-18 Analyst Value Survey shows that Gartner produced for analyst value than any other firm: 25%. Compare that with 31% in 2015 and you get a sense of the change in the market. It’s not that Gartner is shrinking. Quite Read more about AVS shows Gartner’s declining share of a growing pie[…]